French President Emmanuel Macron is embarking on a strategic 2-day Gulf tour that includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Macron, who is expected to sign many investment and sales agreements, is accompanied by the executives of French companies operating in many sectors from defense to energy. The French President will be the first Western leader to visit Saudi Arabia since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Istanbul in 2018.
Macron will also discuss the fight against terrorism, radical Islam, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya and Lebanon in Dubai, Doha and Jeddah during his trip covering 3-4 December.
In addition to these, sources in Paris state that “the organization of preparations for the 2022 World Football Championship with Qatar, the Khashoggi murder and human rights issues will come to the fore with the Saudi Arabian administration.”
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Defense Minister Florence Parly, Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot and Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester will accompany Macron on the tour. The tour will be attended by the executives of major French companies, giant international groups such as Airbus, Thales, Safran, Air Liquide, Dassault and EDF.
With Bin Zayed, Bin Salman, Al Thani
Macron’s fast-paced Gulf cruise will start on Thursday evening from Dubai, the “economic capital” of the Arab Emirates, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary on December 2. Macron will meet with Emir of the UAE Mohammed Ben Zayed on Friday, 3 December. Underlining that Zayed and Macron maintain a “close relationship”, Elysee diplomats remind that France has 3 separate bases in the UAE, and “With this visit, our political, strategic and defense cooperation will increase, and our relations in the economic and cultural plan will get closer.” he considers.
Macron, who will meet with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Tahni in Doha on Friday, will go to Jeddah on Saturday, December 4 and have a long meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He will meet with Mohammed Bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who has not been visited by Western leaders since dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul in 2018.
Elysee diplomats commented on the criticism regarding the meeting with Prince Salman, who is held responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, “Saudi Arabia is an extremely important actor in the region, a member of the G20, one of the most important economies in the gulf. An ambitious policy in the region is unthinkable without establishing a dialogue with Riyadh. human rights issues will also be discussed.
Strategic objectives of the trip
The most important pillar of Macron’s trip is the contacts on regional security and geopolitical issues. France only has 3 military bases in Abu Dhabi, belonging to air, naval and land forces. Defense cooperation agreements have also been signed between France and Doha and Abu Dhabi. It provides operational support to the Saudi Arabian army. Thanks to its and its allies’ navies, France wants to secure oil resources and “freedom of navigation” in the Gulf. Thus, it wants to prevent Iran’s tendency to gain strength in the Gulf or to produce nuclear weapons, which it sat at the table with the USA once again in Vienna. In addition, France and the UAE, which supports General Haftar, and the elections in Libya and the withdrawal of foreign troops will also be discussed.
According to Le Figaro newspaper, “France’s three friends in the Gulf will ask Macron to stand firm against Iran”. Le Figaro informs that “Macron can respond to their request, but in return he will ask them to help Lebanon get out of the situation it is in.”
Gulf countries complain that Lebanon is deeply under the control of the Shiite Hezbollah party. Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates are also reacting to Hezbollah’s military support to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, where they have been fighting since 2015. Riyadh cuts off trade with Beirut; The decision of the rich oil countries of the Gulf to cut aid to Lebanon, which hosts 1 million Syrian refugees, will also be discussed between Macron and the rulers of the Gulf.
“Extra express trip”
Political observers say that Macron’s ability to fit 3 Gulf countries in 2 days will raise questions about the success of the trip. La Tribune newspaper, “Isn’t this extremely important trip to the Middle East too much of an ‘express’ program?” asks the question. The newspaper reminds on its website that Nicolas Sarkozy, who made such a quick trip to the Middle East before, “failed”.
Economy magazine Capital also draws attention to the economic weight of the trip on its website, emphasizing that the giant economic agreements to be signed during the trip will be at the forefront.
Rafale sale on the agenda
During Macron’s visit, France is preparing to sign huge contracts with these three oil-rich countries. The United Arab Emirates, which currently owns 60 French Mirage 2000 fighters, is purchasing about 60 Rafale fighter jets. The Elysee Palace does not give a clue about the number of Rafale planes, just saying, “We are still in talks. We can’t give an exact number because there will be changes until the last moment.”
However, according to the news of the French business magazine Challenges, Macron will sign an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to purchase 60 Rafale fighter jets of F4 standard. It is noted that the F4 type Rafale aircraft, which are planned to be sold to the UAE, are designed for “joint warfare” and are compatible with the future air combat system Scaf.
Rafale manufacturer, French Dassault Aviation, signed a sales agreement with Greece for 18 partially used Rafale aircraft this year, 30 units with Egypt on November 15, and 12 all second hand Rafale aircraft with Croatia last week. Rafale has previously sold 110 aircraft to India, 64 to Finland and 36 to Indonesia.
During the trip, there is also talk that an agreement will be signed with Saudi Arabia regarding the assembly of Airbus aircraft in this country. However, Elysee refrains from responding to the allegations on this issue on the grounds that “negotiations have not been concluded”.